1. Field of the Invention
An object of the present invention is a method for parametrizing or setting the parameters of a mobile telephone. Its purpose is to make it easier to distribute mobile telephones and therefore make it easier to match the services on offer with the services in demand, especially by proposing a technical architecture for these mobile telephones that furthers the goals of business promotion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In mobile telephony, the operators try to attract customers by offering subscriptions that include the cost of the mobile telephone itself. The operator obtains the economic benefits entailed by such subscriptions, of course, only if the user keeps his contract going up to the end. These subscriptions are based on the principle of absorbing a part of the cost of the mobile telephone over the period of subscription even if several types of subscription can be envisaged.
It happens that, at the end of a contract period, a subscriber goes to another operator whereas, in practical terms, the duration of his contract has not been sufficient to really pay for the promotional offer that was made to him at the outset. This means a loss for the operator.
In the invention, this problem is overcome by using the presence of a security circuit. This circuit is removable and also conditions the working of the mobile telephone. In a conventional way, it includes the characteristics of the user""s subscription. Indeed, especially in the field of GSM (Global System for Mobile Telephony), a mobile telephone is put into operation through the recognition, in this safety circuit, of the characteristics of the subscription, before the mobile telephone gets linked up with a base station. At the time of this recognition, the mobile telephone takes information from the security circuit or the operator who manages the subscription, especially information relating to the frequency ranges that have been granted to this operator. Then the mobile telephone gets linked up with a base station in its environment and sends this base station the characteristics of its subscription, especially its identity.
Furthermore, the removable circuit is known as a SIM or Secured Identification Module because it is associated with an anti-theft function of the mobile telephone. According to a procedure dictated by this function, the user of the mobile telephone must key in a secret code through the keypad of the telephone which validates the operation thereof.
In the invention, to resolve the commercial problem referred to here above, it has been planned to separate the use functions of a mobile telephone into at least two categories. Schematically, the basic functions are distinguished from the comfort functions. The basic functions will be the transmitter/receiver type functions of telephony and the minimum operation of a mobile telephone, especially international emergency number calls (firemen, police, etc.). The category of comfort functions would include the following: hands-free and vibration functions, storage of numbers from a directory or called numbers, calculator functions, the possibility of sending data or fax messages, etc.
Furthermore, a code corresponding to the operator code is recorded at an appropriate place in the memory of the mobile telephone. Finally, in a use menu, when the mobile telephone is put into operation, a comparison is activated between an operator code contained in the security circuit and the operator code stored in the mobile telephone. If the comparison tallies, the system permits access to a comfort function. If the comparison does not tally, then only the basic functions will be accessible. Thus, the user who changes his the operator could effectively keep the mobile telephone, which has become his property. However, this telephone henceforth will only work with fewer interesting functions.
In one improvement, if the user wishes to convert this mobile telephone into one that performs as well as before, he will have to contact his former operator for a code to release the comfort functions. Naturally this releasing code will be given to him only against payment of the non-amortized portion of the cost of the mobile telephone that had been given to him at the beginning of the subscription. In this way, a particularly simple technical solution is provided to the problem referred to.
An object of the invention therefore is a method for the parametrization of a mobile telephone wherein:
programs representing use functions of this mobile telephone are loaded into a memory of this mobile telephone,
the mobile telephone is provided with a first removable security circuit,
information encoded in the security circuit is compared with operating information, and
the operation of the mobile telephone is authorized as a function of this comparison,
wherein:
the programs are distributed between at least two groups respectively corresponding to basic functions and comfort functions,
a first operator code is stored in the security circuit,
a second operator code and a code authorizing the use of the functions is stored in a memory of the mobile telephone,
the first and second operator codes are compared, and
the implementation of the comfort functions is authorized as a function of this comparison of the first and second operator codes.